Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-02-27
near the end Of the month. whom be

north, Ills ulhlDtIeT lb 10. U, dlu hO ~
in the constellation Gemini.
Saturn sets on the LIST, about quar-
Ter before O'Clock in the morning on
the 3lst he sets quarter before
O'Clock.
NEPTUNE is evening star. II takes
him 165 years TO complete a revolution
round the sun. He is therefore nearly
thirteen years in passing through aeon
steIlation, and advances on his course
only about 3, while the earth COM
pletes the circle of the ecliptic.
The right ascension of Neptune on
he 1st is 3h. 33m., his declinatlon is
10 - north, his diameter is 20, and
he ism the constellation Taurus.
Neptune sets on the first about o quar-
ter before II in the evening on the
31st he sets a few minutes before III
o'clock.
MARS is evening star. His commune
ton with Mercury on the 10Th is the
only incident he contributes to the
planetary annals of the month. At the
close of the month Venus, Saturn,
Neptune, Mars, and Uranus are evening
stars Jupiter and Mercury are morn
ing stars.
The right ascension of Mars on the
1st is 23h. Bonn, his declination Is 3
So south, his diameter is "A, and he
is in the constellation Aquarius.
Mars sets on the LIST at half-past 8
o'clock in the evening; on the 3lst he
sets nearly at the same time.
THE MOON.
The March moon falls on the 9th, at
Sh. 34m. in the evening. On the lst,
at lOh. ON. A. NJ, the moon, the day
after her first quarter, is in conjunction
with Neptune, being 81 Al south. On
the 9Th, at Oh. sm. A. NJ, she is in CON
iunctian with Saturn, being 30 ~
south. On the 18th, at Oh. slim. A. NJ,
she is in conjunction with Uranus,
being 81 q north. On the 18th, at
9h. 15m. p. NJ, our satellite is at
her nearest point to Jupiter, being
30 93' north. On the Odd, about IA
hours before new moon, at 9h.
3Sm. P. NJ, she is in conjunction with
Mercury, being 80 81 south. On the
oath. about II hours after new moon,
at 1lh. som. z. NJ, she is at her
nearest point to Mars, being b 10y
south. On the Goth, at 7h. Ii Z. NJ,
the two-day-old moon will pay her re-
spects to Venus, being A 5y south,
crescent and star forming celestial
picture whose loneliness never fails to
charm the observer. On the 2Sth, the
moon having completed her circuit,
draws near for the second time in the
month to Neptune, at 5h. 20m. Z. NJ,
being at the time 3 So north of the
planet.
CIRCULATION OF ALDEBARAN.
The bright star Aldcbaran or Alpha
Tauri will be occulted by the moon for
the fourth time during the present
year The occuItation will take place
on the 29th. The immersion will oc-
cur in Washington, in standard time,
at IN. Ann. The Occultation will con-
tinue In. 8m. The immersion will take
place at Sh. 52m. The time will vary
at different points of view on account
of the moons paradox. Aldebaran
sets on the 29th about quarter before
IL o'clock, thus afiording a fine oppor-
tunity for observing the occultation.
| As the moon is passing from new moon
to full she moves with the dark edge
foremost. The star will therefore dis
appear at the dark edge as if its light
were suddenly annihilated at point in
the sky where there is nothing to inter
fere with it.
THE sun.
The sun is turning his smiling face to-
wards our borders, and on the Goth
reaches the dividing line that separates
northern from southern declination {;
honceforth he is on our side of the
line. The sun rises on the lst in this
city, in eastern standard time, at Oh,
2Om. A. NJ, and sets at Oh. 36m.
p. NJ, making the days length l1h.
1Gm. On the 3lst the sun rises at Oh.
Bonn. A. NJ, and sets at Oh. 10m.
p. NJ, making the days length
12h 4Om. There is, therefore, an
increase in the length of the day of In.
24m. during the month. On the 18th
day and night are exactly equal, each
| being 12h. The suns declination keeps
pace with the frightening days On
the 1st his declination is Z 80 south.
On the 3lst it is A - north, showing
that the SUNS progress northward du-
ring the month amounts to IL 49,.
THE vERNAL EQUINOX.
On the Goth, at Oh. p. NJ, the sun
crosses the line and the Astronomical
spring commences. We call the great
iime-mark the vernal equinox, for, as
the words signify, day and night are
equal and spring has come. But the
sun id not cross the "line" or equi-
noctal where he did last year, but fifty
and a quarter seconds OF degree be-
| hind it. This inhnitesimal quantity OF
recession which takes place every year
constitutes what is called the preces-
sion of the equinoxes. Small as the
quantity seems, since astronomical re-
cords have been preserved the recession
amounts 80 ora whole sign. The retro
Grade movement of the equinoxes gives
to the stars an apparent procession.
AS the point where the sun crosses the
oquinoctial each year is the astronomi-
cal starting point there must be a con
stant increase in the longitude of the
stars, whose risings and settings as re-
corded by the old Latin poetsv6y nc
means correspond with present obser-
,ations. The cause of this strange
motion has been discovered. 1t i:
found that the poles of the earth have
a "gyratory" motion around the poles
Of the echptic moving at so slow pace
that $4,000 years are required to com
plete the cycle, complete the re-
cessicn around the ecliptic, and bring
the sun back to the same start
ing point. During this revolution,
wherever in the celestial sphere the
earth's pole points, the nearest star &c
that point viii be the polar star. Fol-
this reason II, 600 years ago Caph wa:
the polar star, and $4,000 years hence
the peerless Vega will enjoy the celes
tial honor. When in the year 1885,
this brilliant star shines near that point
in the sky to which the North Pole, i
extended, would reach, what will be
the characteristics of the race which
then peoples the earth? How clear viii
he the light that will make plain the
wonders in the heavens now seen only
through a glass darkly?